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'This is where we are' – Leclerc concerned as Ferrari has lacked "potential"

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari's qualifying display is a true indication of its current Formula 1 performance levels, with Lewis Hamilton’s sprint race victory at the Chinese Grand Prix an outlier.

Hamilton sprung a surprise on Friday when he took pole position for the sprint, which he then converted into his first victory for Ferrari, having struggled during the opening race in Australia last week.

Despite enjoying a bigger winning margin than all but one of the sprint races from 2024, neither Hamilton nor Leclerc were able to replicate such a performance in qualifying for the grand prix.

Instead, Hamilton will start fifth with Leclerc alongside – the pair having started seventh and eighth in Melbourne with the order reversed.

However, after underperforming in Australia and Hamilton’s somewhat shock Shanghai sprint success, Leclerc feels Ferrari has now levelled out with its qualifying showing.

“This afternoon I think the potential was just not there,” he said.

“The overall grip was just not there, and I think in Australia I felt like we didn't do a great job in qualifying, and we were further away than what we thought but, if we had put everything together, I think we were expecting to be three tenths off.

“I think these three tenths that we see today are generally where we are. Apart from [the fact that] Lewis did a great, great job yesterday, but I feel like today I did a good job. I'm sure Lewis did a good job as well and that's the potential of the car.

“Is there a little bit more in the car? Maybe. Three tenths, I don't think so. But we need to look forward to tomorrow.”

Leclerc started the sprint in fourth but finished a place further back, having been overtaken by George Russell and then struggled to find a way past the Mercedes as his tyres suffered.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images)

“This morning we had good pace in the car, especially towards the end of the stint, but being in dirty air is always trickier, so I had wished for a better quali,” Leclerc added.

“The tyre management looked good, but we need to be careful because, on my side, I was struggling a lot being in dirty air. Lewis had really good pace in free air. We just need to try and find free air from where we start.

“This is going to be a bit tricky because, starting P5 and P6, we've got quite a few cars in front, so to find free air is never easy. But we'll try our best and hopefully our race pace is better than the guys around.”

Hamilton had entered qualifying hopeful of repeating his success from Friday but feels changes to the set-up left his Ferrari more difficult to drive.

“We started really optimistic naturally, but then we made just a couple of small changes, tweaks to the car, and it really put the car on a knife-edge,” he said.

“I think the wind picked up a little bit as well, so the car was just trickier today. It was harder to put laps together.

“You want a car that's balanced. At the moment, from one corner to the next, the car has a different balance.

“You just want a car that you can rely on. When you attack the corners, you know it's going to stay with you instead of lock up and go on or snap into oversteer and, when it's unpredictable, then you've got no hope.”

Photos from Chinese GP - Sprint Race & Qualifying

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Jack Doohan, Alpine

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine Fans

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Jack Doohan, Alpine

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Fans of Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 22: Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of Haas F1 on the grid with Haas F1 team members prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Simon Gallo

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Zhou Guanyu , Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Yao Ming on the grid with Red Bull Racing team members

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Fans of Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Jack Doohan, Alpine

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Racing Bulls team cheer in the garage

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Fans of Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Alex Albon, Williams

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Lando Norris, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

George Russell, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Saturday

Formula 1
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In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
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